After his team suffered a 90-44 loss at Utah on Thursday, UCLA coach Mick Cronin made no excuses for the 46-point loss, the second-largest loss in Bruins history. (Only a 48-point loss at Stanford in 1997 was worse, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.)
“They kicked our butts every way we could,” Cronin said after the game. “Training, playing, pressing, everything.”
For the Bruins (6-10, 1-4 Pac-12), it was their eighth loss in nine games, as a sudden slide continues for a team that had reached the Final Four three years ago.
UCLA's historic program leads all college basketball teams with 11 national titles. Cronin has led the team on a memorable run since his arrival: three straight Sweet 16 appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2021 that only ended when Gonzaga scored a last-second game-winner.
But this team, which features NBA talent, will need a radical change to even reach the NIT. The team's NET rank is 176. And the Bruins have made just 27.9% of their 3-point attempts, one of the worst marks in the NCAA.
Cronin said the only solution to funk is to improve shooting and efficiency. But he also said he doesn't believe his team has abandoned him.
“I think the guys got drunk,” Cronin said after the loss. “They're good kids. We don't have bad kids, believe me. They listen. They're embarrassed, but that doesn't help. I was worried about this. They're drunk and you have to fight your way out of it. I've been there before. It's been a while, but I've been there before.”
Utah (12-4, 3-2) led UCLA by just three points with 5:04 left in the first half, and then UCLA fell apart. With 3:03 left in the game, Utah had a 50-point lead (87-37) over UCLA. The Bruins failed to finish with a double-digit scorer for the first time in nearly 30 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
“I feel like our team's confidence is not at its best,” UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic said. “I guess that's normal when you start losing and you're on a losing streak, but we have to find a way to pick it up and stay together as a team and lift each other up.”
Cronin said Adem Bona, a projected second-round pick in ESPN's latest NBA mock draft, has to play better if the Bruins are to have any chance of improving in the coming weeks.
He said he told his team after Thursday's game that tough losses won't help them gain any sympathy.
“No one feels sorry for them,” Cronin said. “I tried to tell them on Saturday [following a 66-57 loss to Cal at Pauley Pavilion]. In two straight games we have allowed 14 offensive rebounds. Because we can control that. Well, we should be able to control it. Our mind is affected by the lack of punctuation. [That] It starts to affect your defense and your rebounding. That's when you're in trouble and that's what worried me a lot. knowing how powerful [Utah is]. “Knowing that they have a group of guys that can shoot the ball.”
